The Boston Celtics are the odds-on favorite to win the NBA championship. Throughout the early goings on these 2024 playoffs, they have looked the part.
For a team that hasn’t won a championship since 2008, they have been as good as any program in recent years. They have made five out of the last seven Western Conference finals and have a talented core group of players.
Even so, this year is different. The Celtics had the best regular season record in the NBA and never showed any weaknesses.
Anything less than an NBA finals appearance for this Celtics team is disappointing. Boston fans, particularly spoiled by cross-sports success, would say anything less than a title is disappointing.
The Celtics already dispatched the Miami Heat in 5 games and are looking to do the same against the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight. Boston has a 3-1 advantage over Cleveland and with Cavs’ injury problems, the series is all but over. It’s time to start looking ahead.
This year, the Celtics can get over the hump and win their first NBA title in 16 years. Here’s why.
The Dynamic Duo
Every championship-caliber team needs at least one superstar who can get a basket late in games. Boston doesn’t only have one superstar but two. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are as good as any 1-2 punch in the NBA. Both have played their entire careers for the Celtics, and they are consistently among the best players in the NBA.
Tatum is the true number-one option and easily a top-ten player in basketball. The five-time NBA All-Star and three-time All-NBA team selection can score at all three levels and is a headache for any defense. His incredibly clutch and comes up big during the playoffs. The Celtics need him to be at his best if they want to win a championship.
Brown is a close two, but one of the big differences in this Celtics team versus those of the past is Brown’s consistency day in and day out. The high-flying athletic small forward can make mesmerizing plays at any time. His defense has improved over his eight-year career, but his decision-making has been his biggest difference. Once a turnover-prone player, Brown cleaned it up and is much more reliable dribbling the basketball. His lack of three-point shooting will always hold him back he’s become a huge part of this team.
The Glue Guys
There are players who aren’t superstars that teams need to win—great locker-room guys who know their role to perfection and can still ball out. The Celtics have a nice assortment of these types of players.
First, the newest addition to the Celtics Jrue Holiday. Holiday may not be a superstar but still a fantastic basketball player. Holiday is the best on-ball defender the Celtics possess and someone always willing to guard the opposing team’s best player. A proven winner and longtime player Holiday morphed his role from a scorer to a productive playmaker who can still put up big games. Also, Holiday is extremely efficient from deep. While he won’t drop 30 anymore his low-volume efficiency on a Celtics team with a ton of options makes him a crucial piece on this squad.
Everybody loves a three-point specialist who can play great defense and Derrick White is exactly that. White scores almost exclusively from the three and is still efficient from beyond the arc. He is a fantastic spot-up shooter and arguably better on defense. Not big or tall, but very lanky, White gets his hands in passing lanes and can block shots particularly well for a guard. He is having a career year in Boston and playing his role to perfection.
What Stands in Boston’s Way?
All teams have their weakness even if it didn’t seem so at times this year in Boston. Their biggest concern right now is the health of Kristaps Porzingis. The Celtics big man went down in the first round of the playoffs with a non-contact calf injury and hasn’t played since. He could perhaps be back in time for the latter stages of the postseason, but the Celtics must deal with the reality that he might not be back.
That is a huge loss for this team, as he has been dominant on both sides of the ball all year. Al Horford and Luke Kornet have taken over his post role, but they aren’t the same. It hasn’t been a big problem since Cavs frontman Jared Allen is also out with injury but if the Celtics get past the Cavs, it could pose serious threats especially since there are some talented big men left in the playoffs.
Will they be Champions?
This 2024 iteration is the best version of a Boston squad that’s been very consistent for a long time. It would be no surprise if they went home victorious at the end of this postseason. That said, this core group of players has had many opportunities to raise the Larry O’Brien trophy in recent years, and it hasn’t happened. Maybe this year is different, maybe they will overcome Porzingis’s injury and Tatum will lead this team to a championship. If they don’t, difficult questions will be asked about this team’s ability to seal the deal when it matters most.
